Residential building activity near to 20-year low

Figures from Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) revealed overall building activity is at its lowest level for a decade, with the amount of building work falling 6.6% in the June 2011 quarter, led by a fall in residential building work.

This follows a similar fall in the March quarter, which was led by a drop in non-residential building activity.

The falls come as the number of new homes approved also hit a record low earlier this year.

Non-residential building activity fell slightly in the June quarter, down 1.4%, following a fall of 10% in the previous quarter.

The SNZ survey also included extra investigation into building work in the Canterbury region.

"It looks as though Canterbury actually performed slightly better than the rest of the country in the June quarter," said industry and labour statistics manager Kathy Connolly.

"It seems that residential building work in Canterbury fell by slightly less than in the rest of the country, while non-residential building work appears to have risen."

SNZ reported that in the June 2011 year compared with June 2010, the unadjusted value of all building work was $10,589 million, down 1.2%.

The value of residential building work was $5,791 million, down 5.1%, and non-residential building work was $4,798 million, up 3.9%.